What Is My Cat Trying To Say to Me?!?

What Is My Cat Trying To Say to Me?!?

Ah, the cat…. So beautiful! So mysterious!  So inscrutable!  And sometimes, just so downright strange or scary!  For those of us that live with these wonderful creatures that we adore (but occasionally wound us with their sharp teeth and claws), here are a couple of fun diagrams to help decipher those feline moods (and mood SWINGS):  (Image:Feline body language Credit to consciouscat.net)

We all recognize the fearful look, the tail up cat from the classic “Halloween Cat” poses, but the tail downwards stances are also very important to be aware of.  Is my cat feeling defensive, being aggressive?  The downward tail, may just be telling us something is wrong.   Cats will also swish their tails when annoyed and/or upset.  Many cats change rapidly from one pose to another  so it can become difficult to read them.  Here is a good general rule however, it is better not to touch or extend your hand near a cat with a bristled tail, up or down.   A bristled tail indicates aggression or defensiveness.  So leaving those cats alone is always best.  There can be many causes of aggression, from  fear, territorial or inter-cat issues, predatory aggression, maternal aggression, etc.  It is important to recognize the signs while trying to figure out the underlying trigger.

But what about your crazy Auntie’s cat that was letting you pet him and then suddenly attacked your hand and scratched you out of nowhere?  There may have been signs that he was losing patience.  They are often quite subtle and therefore difficult to notice unless you really pay close attention.  A tail that is starting to twitch or is beginning to change from an upright position to being held out to the back can indicate growing unease as can a cat that is starting to tap at you with their front paws.  Also cats that flop onto their side and swipe at your hand with their back feet should never be encouraged.  These guys may be playing initially, but it actually can progress to play aggression and the end result is often bleeding scratches.  This type of play should be ignored and hands and body moved to a safe distance (even- if it’s a cute little kitten doing it).

There is also a phenomenon known as referred aggression, when something upsets the cat but instead of the cat attacking it, they attack the nearest thing to them, which is often the owner, a fellow household cat, or (hopefully rarely) nearby small children.  The classic example of this is a cat sitting at a window that is startled by something outside, say another cat or a barking dog, and the stimuli triggers a strong stress response.  They cannot reach the outside animal and the “flight or fight” impulse causes them to turn and beat up its usually well loved sibling cat that was just sitting or sleeping nearby.  These types of referred behaviors can sometimes be hard to dislodge, leading to a worsening situation for the innocent bystander and can require help with a slow desensitizing process.

When learning to read our beloved cats behaviour, always play safe and when in doubt, let the cat come to you rather than you go to them.

Here’s another chart, showing some more tail “talk” in detail, have fun trying to “read” your cat today!(Image: Cat bahaviour - When a cat attacks you - Album on Imgur Credit to imgur.com)

Dr. Johnson